Lead Contaminated Water Found in Texas State Funded Living Centers

Lead is a toxic metal that is known to be harmful to human health. If consumed, the Natural Resource Defense Counsil (NRDC) said, “Lead exposure can cause neurological and cardiovascular disease, infertility and decrease kidney function.”

It has come to light that three out of 13 state supported living centers in Texas have a water supply contaminated with lead. The Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) was created to administer long-term services and support for people who are aging, as well as for people with intellectual and physical disabilities.

DADS have campuses located in Abilene, Austin, Brenham, Corpus Christi, Denton, El Paso, Lubbock, Lufkin, Mexia, Richmond, Rio Grande, San Angelo and San Antonio. (Note: The Rio Grande State Center is operated by the Texas Department of State Health Services and provides services through a contract with DADS.)

The facilities that have tested positive for lead contamination are in Brenham, El Paso and San Angelo. In the San Angelo State Supported Living Center (SSLC), there are 210 residents who reside within the facility.

Cecilia Cavuto is the Media Relations Manager for the San Angelo DADS facility, and she explained that proactive testing began earlier in the year to evaluate the water being distributed through the centers.

“The facility has two water wells that send water to the facility filtration plant, which filters and chlorinates the water," said Cavuto. "It is then stored in above ground storage tanks from which it is pumped to the campus for distribution. The facility has three staff licensed and certified by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in water production, treatment and distribution. TCEQ inspects the facility every year.”

After finding that three facilities had elevated levels of lead in the water, they began testing at all of the other facilities in Texas.

Cavuto said, “We have expanded the testing at all of our campuses. We are also conducting investigations into the plumbing system to identify any components that might be contributing to the elevated levels.”

The reason that proactive testing of the water began was due to the aging of the infrastructure.

“Because our infrastructure is aging, in 2015, DADS proactively developed and implemented a policy in which the water at all of the SSLCs will be tested,” added Cavuto. “We are hoping to find out through all of our work on the plumbing system. We know of course that the infrastructure is aging. That is the main reason we started the proactive testing in the first place.”

Cavuto also said DADS will be working to identify and replace fixtures, piping and other plumbing that might contribute to positive elevated levels of lead.

The main goal now is to find and replace plumbing components, and to fix the lead problem as much as possible. Until this is done, bottled water has been replaced throughout the contaminated facilities for human consumption. Also, clean running water will be used to flush the lines to washing dishes per CDC guidance.

To follow protocol from the CDC, staff training and distribution of information on CDC protocol will be given at the facilities. Medical staff will be monitoring all residents for any signs of symptoms of lead exposure. As of now, there have been no residents exhibiting signs of lead exposure.

“We’re taking all of these actions to ensure the health and safety of our resident and our staff at our facilities” Cavuto stated.

Refer to the table below for specific details of test results. Note: None of the water sources in which elevated levels of lead were found are used for consumption.

San Angelo State Supported Living Center Water Testing